Fisher and I (many others) went
ashore on the mainland at Port Clarence Bay, Alaska, and went up
the stream where the ship was watering. First bird seen was a pipit (A. Pensilv. ) and soon after saw the
yellow
wagtail which we had found
in Siberia. It turned out to be common, several specimens were
obtained. Alice's thrush was common, + obtained for the first time
on the trip. Cole got a Mealy?
red poll, and I found a
nest with 5 eggs - both redpolls seemed common enough. About the
finest sensation we had was a successful hunt after golden
plover. I got 3 + F. two,
all in more or less perfect summer plumage. The birds have the
most beautiful [Page 48] calls + song. They sit at quite a distance
from each other in the wet mossy hill meadows and call and answer
back + forth. The calls can all be imitated by a full clear
whistle, so that the birds answer quite eagerly - whip [illus]
whee [illus] + a shorter note of the same notes, lower, are the
common calls, but the song is a rich full warble, of a cadence -
repeated - [illus] somewhat suggesting a blue-bird song done in
R.B. Grosbeak quality.

Dr. F. + I, while separated by
quite a distance, saw at the same time a long
tailed Jaeger, sitting on a
moss tuft way off on a distant hill; and unbeknownst to it and to
us, he became the apex of a triangle , where F. + I were doomed
to meet. Our sneak became interesting as we neared each other, +
became aware of our position. The bird however, relieved us of
our responsibility, + let us both out in a sportsmanlike manner
by catching sight of me first, and rising with a scream which I
took for alarm at first, but when he repeated it came squealing
straight at me, I saw that it was defiance, and there was nothing
to do but [Page 49]wait for him to get the right distance and
shoot in self-defence. When I had come up to the beautiful bird,
+ was kneeling over it, Fisher's voice came up the rise --
"let me take the other," + I looked up to see the mate
rising as he approach, at rt [angles] to the course of the first
one. Nearer he came, + I itched as he passed over me at nearly 40
ft. I could see him eye me, + his squealing cries were so near
that their quality seemed surprising -- very like big hawk's
cries. His long tail feathers oscilated + spread slightly at the
tips with each wing stroke. He went right by me, straight on
towards Dr. F. + when he got just right -- bang -- and with wings
set in a V he came smoothly down into the grass, and we sat
together in the mossy hillside and held the first long-tailed
jaegers that either of us had ever seen to shoot at. The feet
were black, like black rubber, and the rest of the legs light
bird blue and the bill black with a "milky flesh color"
interior.